“I don’t want to rush it”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Australia left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc has virtually ruled himself out of the World Twenty20 in India in March as he continues to recover from ankle surgery.
Starc was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot during the first-ever day-night Test match between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide in November.
With the World Twenty20 looming over the horizon, Starc made it clear that he would rather miss the tournament than aggravate his injury and spend even more time on the sidelines.
“It’s very unlikely,” he said. “Everything would have to go perfectly to be any chance. I won’t know until I can start doing some stuff on it.
“I don’t want to rush it. I want to make sure it’s 100 percent because I’ve rushed back before and been dropped after a game.
“I’ve played probably non-stop for two years and the silver lining is I get to give the body a bit of a break and rebuild that strength. Make sure everything is 100 percent before I go again.”
Starc confirmed that the operation was a success, but he conceded that it will take time to rediscover his rhythm and resume bowling deliveries at 150 kilometres per hour or over. In fact, during the second Test against New Zealand in Perth in November, Starc etched his name in the record books for bowling the fastest ball in Test history, which was clocked at 160.4 kilometres per hour or 99.67 miles per hour.
“Everything had felt great on that day, so I think it just comes back to the rhythm and smoothness in my action on any given day,” he said. “It’s going to take a while to get back to my bowling workload and get that rhythm back after spending some time out.
“It always takes some time to get that pace back. You obviously are not going to bowl at full pace soon as you come back, it takes a bit of time, so I’m not sure how it’s going to go.”
In addition to missing the World Twenty20, Starc will also be unavailable for the upcoming ODI series against India this month and the two-test series in New Zealand in February. The 25-year-old added that he may not recover in time for the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is scheduled to begin in April.
However, once he does make a full recovery, Starc acknowledged that he may not be able to waltz his way back into the national team.
“I don’t think you can ever say 100 percent that you’ve cemented a spot,” he said. “I’m still going to have to work my butt off when I get back to bowling to get my spot back. But I’d like to think in the last 10-12 months I’ve come a long way in all forms of cricket.”